


The Antagonizer (Future Past Mix)

by koanju (verstehen)



Category: Dark Angel
Genre: Character of Color, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-27
Updated: 2009-12-27
Packaged: 2017-10-05 08:05:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/39519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/verstehen/pseuds/koanju
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alec is the cock of the crop</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Antagonizer (Future Past Mix)

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Remix Redux III: Reloaded and based on Savage Midnight's original story [Grace](http://www.geocities.com/savagemidnight2000/Grace.htm).

Alec, X5-494, once pride of the remaining X-5 line, had learned a lot of things since leaving — no, scratch that, being forcibly removed from — Manticore, not the least of which was that people were people whether they had gills or clawed feet or glasses. And the thing about people being people was that people fought and argued and made enemies out of nothing if there was no one to make enemies of.

That's why war and god and politics were a good thing, because using them you could define enemies. 'Those people' are the enemy. 'They're the ones you want. Get 'them.' Didn't matter about the details, just that there was an us and there was a them and it was acceptable to hate them for not being us. When you took that away from people they started hating each other. They started fighting each other.

They started having fucking death matches in the bullpen area of Terminal City where Alec was the one assigned to clean the shit up. Why Max couldn't do it herself he didn't know, but he sort of thought it had something to do with how much this job sucked.

"Hey, hey! Break it up!"

Frank, an A9 series with teeth sharper than anything Alec had ever seen, hissed at him, baring those multiple rows of tiny, sharp teeth angrily. "What would you know about it, X-5?" The words were lisped, like he couldn't quite force the sounds over the spread of his mouth, and it took them a couple of seconds to catch up with Alec in translation.

When they did though, he rolled his eyes. "Oh, for f — I have the gun. That's what I know about it. Now break it up." For point he gestured the muzzle of the gun he was holding casually at Frank's stomach, which happened to be where his heart was, and then jerked it back to indicate he should take a step away. When he did Alec turned to the other participant in this fun game of infighting.

An A-I6. He didn't know the name of the guy, just that he was an off-branch of the same general coding of the A series.

Aqua-men. Sounded like it should be the name of a comic book.

The A-I6 snarled at him, like he wasn't capable of speech or something, and Alec gave him a well-practiced 'What the fuck do you think you're doing?' look in return. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" He'd learned that exact tone of disbelief coupled with contempt from Max and it'd turned out to be pretty useful.

"Sparring," the A-I6 gurgled out.

Alec rolled his eyes. "That isn't sparring. That's running into each other's fists."

"It's not any of your business," Frank snapped. Okay, snapped was the wrong word for it. It was more a sharp lisping. Sounded funny more than anything. "X-5."

If he rolled his eyes any harder he was going to dislodge something. "Listen, I know that everyone here wants to stay segregated, like to like, because that's what we did in Manitcore. But, guess what? We're not Manticore anymore. Get over it because we keep killing each other and we're doing their job for them." He gestured outside vaguely. Day Eight of the siege and no one was getting anywhere. The only good news was that they weren't under threat of running out of supplies for some time yet.

"You can leave," Frank snarled. "You don't know."

"Can't do that anymore, can I?" The A-I6 settled up to say something but Alec cut him off, "Look, we can't even get the humans out right now and my face is plastered up on every news broadcast down the West Coast. I do know." It gurgled something about 'human trash' and 'not caring.' Alec ignored it. "So just break it up!"

"We should not be fighting each other. It hurts us," Joshua piped up from the corner of the makeshift ring, towering over everyone.

"Good call, big guy," Alec told him.

Frank and the A-I6 glared at each other and stalked off in separate directions.

"Who died and appointed you ringmaster of the freaks?" Frank snapped as he walked off.

No one had to die for Max to decide she had to rule, Alec wanted to reply but he kept his mouth shut putting the gun away instead. Then he glanced over at Joshua, who was looming nearby and looking pretty morose while he was at it. "How they doing?"

"Sick smell. Getting worse. Logan's throw-throwing up."

That wasn't really a detail he needed to know, but he nodded and clapped Joshua on the back. "Thanks. I'll go check on them." If Logan was throwing up then Sketchy had to be doing a lot worse.

Which meant that it was time to try and go convince Max of the necessity of blood transfusions. They weren't getting out tomorrow or the next day or even the day after that so it didn't matter what their blood would show when they got out because, at this rate, by the time Logan was going to be able to make the connections he needed to get them away they'd be dead.

It was too bad it was far too late to just take off and leave Seattle. It'd probably been too late when he'd shaped up that squad of escapees right after Max had burnt Manticore.

So much for superior intelligence.

Alec parted ways with Joshua in the command center area and then went off towards Logan's room. The humans were grouped together so that Max could worry over them more efficiently. It almost made him wish Normal'd come along. At least they'd have someone halfway competent as a medic to sit with the humans.

Not that Max was doing anything but irritating everyone, he bet. It was amazing that they'd all had field training in medicine, every single X-series before X-8 here, and none of them knew what to do with radiation poisoning. It wasn't something they got and so it wasn't something that worried about and so it wasn't something they knew about.

It was the gaps that'd kick your ass every time. And, now that it was important, there were a hell of a lot of gaps. Pregnancy. The flu. Colds. Anything that wasn't an inflicted wound, they didn't know shit about.

He'd have to talk to Logan, once he was out, about smuggling in some medical books.

That wasn't going to be the last pregnancy around here.

Medicine wasn't the only big gap either. These people, with an exception of a few X-6s that'd been impressive enough to make it on their first mission, didn't know how to get along with the real world. They'd spend the last year scraping and hiding and looking for orders when there were none. There wasn't anyone left to make orders and without that structure they were going insane.

The fighting was just a symptom of a disease that'd Manticore hadn't make them immune to. Manticore hadn't wanted to make them immune to it because Manticore assumed it'd still be running right now.

Yeah. The Transgenics had a lot to thank Max for.

He dropped a level, not bothering to take the stairs, and wound his way through the decrepit hallways to where the humans were. Max was there and Alec was so very not surprised about that.

She looked surprised to see him. "What are you doing here?"

"Checking in."

He glanced past her to where Logan was looking pretty miserable and shuddered just a little. "Sickness. Kinda creeps me out, you know."

Max frowned at him. "If you don't like it, go away."

"Glad to do that, Maxie, after donating a little blood."

"They're not that bad off, Alec."

"Radiation poisoning is cumulative. Cu- mu - la - tive. Do we need to go over the definition of the word again?" He asked her. Really, the tone had all sorts of great uses. Making Max's eye twitch was only one of them.

"You don't need to donate blood. I'll do it."

"And what about Logan?" He raised his eyebrows.

"I'll get C.J," she said, glaring.

In the background Logan heaved again but nothing came out. Alec leaned to the side, glancing at him around Max's shoulder and then straightened, smiling. He expected the punch long before he had to sidestep it. "How ya doing Logan?"

"Been better." Logan wiped his mouth on his sleeve. "You look like you're doing fine."

"Just peachy." Lower, to Max, he said, "How about we let them choose?"

"Whether or not they want your blood running through their veins? Not a chance. Why bother? I know what the answer is."

"I want to hear it." Fact wasn't, he didn't. Alec knew he'd do nearly anything to survive but they weren't X-5s.

"Fine." She turned to them. "Alec here wants to donate some of his blood."

Original Cindy, huddled in the corner gave him a faint smile and a nod. Sketchy, on a bed, seemed to be sleeping or passed out.

Logan wasn't saying anything and Alec raised his eyebrows. "We need medical books. No one can get them from in here. All anyone here has is triage training."

"It's all we've needed before," Max said. "Not anymore." She sighed. "We've got to get you out and into a hospital."

"We need to get them to Canada," he replied.

Logan had pushed himself up, wincing, and he nodded. "Do it."

Alec nodded. There weren't a lot of good things he could say about Logan but the fact was that the man understood necessity well enough that he wasn't a complete waste of space. So, he dropped the jacket he was wearing well away from the filth and took the kit he had in his pocket out. It was makeshift and they'd have to sterilize it with fire, but it'd work.

"Is he sleeping or passed out?" Alec nodded toward Sketchy, trying to prioritize them.

"Passed out," Logan replied quietly and Alec nodded, changing direction. That was the priority.

"He didn't agree," Max said.

"Lack of consciousness implies consent to treatment," he replied, not slowing down. "Are you going to help or bitch?"

She scowled at him and came over, kneeling next to Sketchy and rolling up his sleeve. "He can have mine."

Alec sighed and shook his head. "Get over yourself, Max."

"I'm going to help. Don't forget to sterilize that."

What? Was he stupid? He rolled his eyes and tugged out the lighter he kept on them. Some of the more violent members of this little psychofuck family were afraid of fire.

From there they worked silently, shifting almost awkwardly, to get the first transfusion done. Over here, by Sketchy, the stench of blood and shit was almost overpowering and Alec tried not to breath too much, still shuddering a little. Humans. They were so fragile. It's why they were made better. More than human. Alec sat down on the side of the bed next to him. He seriously needed a bath. The transfusion was easy; Sketchy didn't even flinch as the needle slid into his vein and Max refused to look at him as the blood swirled through the tubing they were using.

They didn't even know enough about medicine to know this'd work for certain.

Max brushed Sketchy's hair back off his forehead. "If I have to drive them out in between the police cars, I will," she said quietly.

"They'd be taken into 'protective' custody. Logan knows too much. How long would it take White's men to get him transferred?" He dropped his voice even lower, so that Logan couldn't hear him, and added, "How long do you think he'd last with White, Max? A few days? A week?"

"He wouldn't. But White would have no reason to go after Logan. White knows exactly where we are."

It baffled Alec how had Max survived ten years out here in makeshift freedom. "He's one of a handful of people, Max, who knows what you are."

"Which White knows too."

"Not the details, Max." He slid the needle out of Max's arm and let the rest of the blood drain. If that wasn't enough there wasn't going to be enough. "He'd take Logan just to see him die. But, hey, not really my concern."

"Then we take 'em out underground. They have to get out."

"We've been trying to do that for a week. I'm not suggesting we give up but we need to find an alternative if we can't so that they don't die."

"What sort of alternative? Make them walk out the front door? Kill everyone out there? Not going to happen," she hissed.

"We'll see if the transfusions work first," he said. "Cindy or Logan next?"

"OC. She's been dehydrated," Max said.

Alec moved over there, repeating the process with sterilizing the needle, and sighed. Humans. They had to get them outta here, Max was right about that. Doing was a lot harder than just saying though. At this rate none of them were getting out of Terminal City and while it wasn't really a concern yet, Alec didn't like the big, solid wall at the end of this tunnel very much.

"Hey. Looking cool," Cindy licked her lips.

He grinned. "I always look good. We'll get you fixed up here quick, OC, don't worry 'bout it."

She grinned back. "You'd better. Then make Max go get some rest. My girl's rattling the cage."

"Isn't she always? This is going to hurt a little." With that he checked a vein and slipped the needle in.

She sucked in a breath. "Hate needles."

"Who doesn't?" Alec checked the pressure and then got Max hooked up on the other end.

"I could name a few cats who do."

He laughed. "More like the shit they're shooting up with."

She gave him a faint and quiet laugh in return and shut her eyes. They didn't open again as the transfusion continued or even when Logan was dry heaving again. If they didn't get out now, chances were they were going to die in this pigpen.

They'd never get the smell out.

He sighed and slid the needle out when it was done and looked over at Max, sitting next to Logan's bed, as close as they could get without touching.

"He was throwing up blood." Her voice was soft, almost a whisper, and Logan himself was unconscious.

"Come on, Max. Let Joshua watch them for a while." He tugged Max up and, to his surprise, she let him.

"I should stay."

Alec rolled his eyes. "There's a lot more people out there that need you. You brought them out. They expect you to save them. Your kind."

Her head shot up and her dark eyes glared at him. Max jerked her arm out of his grip. "We got them –"

"Sure, you did, Max. You were created and the world suddenly had problems. Get over yourself," Alec snapped at her. He'd had far too much of this from her to take this when she smelled so good.

Shit.

Alec mentally reviewed his thoughts and sniffed the air.

Fucking Manitcore. Max was about to go into heat. And when she did, as the strongest specimen in this rat maze, the others were going to be all over her. And she wouldn't be able to help herself. "Max."

"Fuck you, Alec," she snapped back before he could find the words to say, turning back to sit next to Logan.

"You're going into heat, Max."

She froze, halfway to sitting, in a sort of squat that would've been funny in any other situation. "I am not."

"Quit lying to yourself. You're cycling. I can smell it," Alec told her flatly, tugging her back straight.

"I gotta be here with Logan."

"So that you can hump his leg and kill him in the process?"

She punched him, a solid shot, right in the eye. And Alec let her. She'd be a little more willing to listen after she let out her temper. "I'll be locked in a room. It won't be a problem."

"Until someone comes along and smells you and breaks down the door. Pretty much everyone that isn't lying down in this room could do it. How'd you like that, Maxie?" He leaned close. "I'm sure Frank would. Or what about the new daddy? Might be a bit young but he obviously can give you what you're going to want."

She glared at him, too furious for words. Alec just gave her a sunny smile in return. "You're a real prize, Alec."

"You have no idea." He shook her head and pulled her out of the room. "You either leave Terminal City or you fuck someone now. You'll smell like them and won't cause a riot just by breathing."

She shut the door behind them and leaned against it, crossing her arms over her chest. "And who did you have in mind for that?"

"There's me, for one."

Max laughed harshly. "Dream on, Alec."

"You'll change your mind, Maxie." He turned away from her and let it go.

She'd be at his door soon enough. Logan would force her into it.


End file.
